Some design critique please...

I’ll question the grain direction in the top for structural reasons.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

The grain runs the length of the top. (Not like it shows in the pic, thats just what Goggle Sketch gave me…) But it is quarter sawn, which is very stable. There will be small allowance for movement regardless.

Ryan

Ryan, I think you’re onto something here. I like it. I don’t see anything that needs changed. You may want to add a scoop to the top supports, instead of square cutouts. Other then that its cool.

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

not sure if you saw this piece but for woodworking journal the built a piece with the waterfall bubinga that was pretty much identical to this piece. if you havent seen it you should go over there and take a look. but i think that it looks good

I like this design. Just not sure about 90 degree in the top support. Maybe it should have an arch type of curve?

-- Matt - Syracuse, NY

I like the shape of the legs. Just my thought, try a sketch with a semi oval table top.
I do not know to use sketch-up…except drawing a box.

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

I like it too but I agree with MattD and woodworm that the edges of the supports for the top should have curves and the edges of top should be curved to emulate the legs. I wouldn’t use a circular arc as you have in the model though.

By the way, it’s pretty easy to change the orientation of the textures in SketchUp.

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

It seems to me that there is alot of leverage from the bottom of each leg to the apron… enough to easily break the legs. I know typical braces would remove the open/sleek look… but would it last?

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"

About the top supports as mentioned by Matt, maybe the shape looks like this, I’m not sure..

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

What kind of furniture design does your sister and her new husband like?

I built a solid walnut butler’s table for my brother and his wife. It disappeared after the first garage sale.

Lew: Sorry to hear that, but it does make a valid point. Sometimes it nice to surprise someone with a gift and other times it nice to get them involved in the design phase.

Not only are they participants in the design but they have a vested interest in keeping it to become an antique.

I like the design but do they.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Thanks for all the comments guys.
I completely agree on 2 points:
1. the top supprts need to be curved. I will change that.
2. I SUCK at using sketchup! Ha ha, actually, I’m just really new at it and havn’t got all the fine details worked out. Just sketching this table took me about 3 hours!

The curve on the legs, as Dave R said, won’t be a circular curve, they will be thicker at the top than the sketch suggests, and thinner at the bottom. Kind of like a curved taper if that makes sense. I just didn’t know how to do that on the sketch.

I did have the thought of putting some gentle curves on the top, but I’m really unsure of this. I want the piece to have a very modern look and not too elegant. Would just curving the ends look funny? What about a round over profile on the top edges?

As to the style that my sister and (soon to be) brother in law like. Well, they don’t really have a style in their current home. I discussed building something for them, with them, and they had no suggestions on what to build, and did not want to input on the design. They want to be surprised. But my wife and I know them better than pretty much anybody, and we both think they would love this. Thats about all I can ask for.
If it turns out they don’t, then hopefully they give it back to me rather than hawk it off in a garage sale, cause I’d love to have this in MY house. Lew, I’m also sorry to hear that. That’s just rude.

Are there any other thoughs on how sturdy this will be? I’m thinking with tight M&T and TitebondIII, it should be pretty strong. It will definitely be a mechanical attachement for the top to the top supports. Likely these, which I have used on several table tops before.

Last thing, teenagewoodworker, do you have a link to where I can find that similar table your talking about? I’d love to see it.

Ryan

I found this one, teenagewoodworker, is this the one you were talking about?
Table

It’s similar, I’m gonna have to think more about doing the lower shelf part. That would certainly add some stability, and may be useful too as my siter and her fiance have kids.

Thoughts on incorporating a lower shelf to my design?

I like the design so far. I would make the tops of the legs pointed, similar to the pyramid looking square pegs in arts and crafts furniture.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

I love this basic design thought.

My sense on this design is that the temptation will be to do too much a curve on those pieces. A curve is going to be much more elegant and sleek than a sraight board, but my quess is that it will be better to err on the side of less curve than more. There is probably a fine line between an “elegant curve” and “bowed.”